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If you traditionally have ham for Christmas dinner, here are some basic rules to pairing wine with your favorite holiday ham.
As a general rules, go with fruity wines. Ham, with its sweet-and-saltiness, pairs best with wines that have a touch of sweetness, a substantial amount of acidity and ample, bold fruit. Great wines with ham are Riesling, Moscato, Chenin Blanc, Rosé, Lambrusco, Grenache, and Zinfandel, but don’t stop there. There are so many wines to choose because ham is very versatile.
The general profile of ham is sweet, salty, textured and rich, but you will find variations depending on the style of ham and the way the ham is prepared.
Dry-Cured, Aged Ham
Thinly-sliced, bold flavored hams with a chewy texture and typically higher salt content.
A classic example of this style of ham, that nearly all of us know, is the Italian favorite, Prosciutto. You’ll find ham in this style typically served in micro-thin layers that melts in your mouth as an appetizer.
Examples – Prosciutto, Bayonne Ham, Serrano Ham
Recommended Wines:
The high saltiness factor and dryness of this ham screams sparkling wine. You’ll also do very well with a sparkling Rosé or even a sparkling red. Other great pairing options include table Rosé, crisp, high minerality and herbaceous white wines, like Gruner Veltliner, dry Sherry (Fino or Manzanilla), and dry Madeira (known mostly as a cooking wine).
Savory and Smoky Ham
Medium to thick cut sliced ham with a medium to bold flavor that’s not sweet.
This style is typically smoked but ranges in size from full-sized fresh hams that you bake in the oven to pre-sliced ham that you buy at the grocery store. This is a less-sweet style of ham so the best wine pairings will be different. Since this style of ham is juicier and not as salty as a dry-cured ham, it is one of the better choices to match with lighter red and rose wines.
Examples – Black Forest Ham, Country-Cured non-glazed Ham, Mortadella, Spam (processed, if you’re into that)
Recommended Wines:
With less sweetness and more texture, you will love this with a medium-bodied fruity red that has moderate acidity. There is a great range of wines to choose from in this style and here are a few favorites to know – Garnacha or Grenache-based reds (such as GSM Blend from Rhone Valley in France), Zinfandel, new-world style Pinot Noir from Oregon or California, Zweigelt (from Austria), Dornfelder (Germany), deeply colored Rose, the Corvina-based red wines of Italiy – Valpolicella, aged Tempranillo (Spain), Nebbiolo (Italy), Sangiovese (Italy), Primitivo-Negroamaro blends from Puglia, Italy and “Secco” (dry) Lambrusco (Italy).
Sweet and Salty Ham
These are typically medium to thick cut hams with a chewy texture and noticeably sweet flavor.
Think Canadian bacon. Since this style of ham is sweet and often served with breakfast and Eggs Benedict, you want to match with wines that are also pretty sweet or have a strong fruitiness on the palate.
Examples – Canadian Bacon, Honey Baked Ham, Glazed Baked Hams, Mortadella
Recommended Wines:
The best way to pair with foods that have sweetness is to have a wine with sweetness too. On the dry side, pick a Riesling, Chenin Blanc or White Zin/Merlot. On the sweeter side go for Moscato, Brachetto d’Acqui (Italy), Vin Santo (sweet dessert wine) and White Port. You can probably get away with more new-world style reds including Australian Shiraz, South African Pinotage and American Petite Sirah.
Have a great holiday season!
Cheers,
Michael Nagy